


Marvel Rambles, One Shots, and Ideas

by Love_of_fandoms



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Fluff, Multi, Music, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Polyamory, Romance, Unrequited Love, don't question me please, musician - Freeform, proposal, snuggles, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2020-04-05 04:22:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19041043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Love_of_fandoms/pseuds/Love_of_fandoms
Summary: I take requests! There will be more one shots to come! If you'd like to request something, please send it through my tumblr: @love-of-fandomsIf you do not have a tumblr, leave your request in the comments section!





	1. Triad - Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> One-Shot Request: Doctor Stephen Strange & Loki in a polyamorous triad relationship with me (my name is Sage), romantic, wedding.

“What the hell?” was the first thing Sage heard when she walked into the lab to check on Bruce and Tony. It was quickly followed by an angry shout of “LOKI!” and then a deep laughter that could be heard going away from the lab. Sage giggled a bit, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend’s antics. Tony ran past her into the hallway, chasing after Loki. “I’ll get you Reindeer Games!” he shouted, and Sage’s giggling turned into full on laughter. When her laughter calmed down, Sage smiled and turned to walk back out of the lab, yelling over her shoulder at Bruce.  
“Thor made pancakes for dinner, because Clint told him he couldn’t, so come upstairs if you want some!” she told him, and heard Bruce call back.  
“Yeah, I’ll be right up!”   
Sage continued to walk to the elevator, but turned to the side when she heard a fizzing noise to her left. Seeing a fading orange spark, she smirked, and pretended not to notice anything. She continued to walk, but quieter this time so she could hear the next portal. When she heard the next fizzing noise, this time to her right, she quickly turned around and grabbed the hand popping out of the portal, pulling the sorcerer out of the portal and into the hallway.  
“Whoa!” Stephen let out a shout as he stumbled through the portal and practically on top of Sage.   
Sage tilted her head to look up at her sorcerer boyfriend, laughing a bit. Some would say that she had a type... You know, due to the fact that she was dating two tall magic users, and she totally didn’t deny it.  
“INCOMING!” they heard a shout from down the hallway, Stephen wrapping an arm around Sage’s waist and pulling her to the side of the hallway as a certain dark haired trickster ran past them, pausing for a second to send them a wink before running again. Sage sighed happily, leaning back into Stephen as he gave her a kiss on the top of her head.  
Their tender moment was interrupted as another portal appeared next to them, Wong poking his head through and glaring at Stephen.  
“What did I do this time?” he asked, and Wong’s glare intensified, causing Stephen to sigh, letting go of Sage to step towards him.  
“Duty calls,” he shrugged, turning to give Sage a quick peck on the lips before he went through the portal with Wong. A paper fell to the floor as the portal closed, and Sage stared at it curiously before picking it up.  
Central Park, our spot, 8 pm  
Sage tilted her head a bit, pocketing the note and walking back to the common area to have dinner.  
During dinner, while eating her pancakes distractedly, Sage kept looking around, wondering where Loki was.  
“Tony?” she asked, and said billionaire turned his head to look at her.  
“Yeah?” he responded, and flinched as Sage looked at him seriously. “Oh no, what did I do? Did I leave laundry lying around? Forget to put my brandy back last night? Was it that green goo I left in Bruce’s bed? Because trust me, it was just some flour glue and food coloring…”  
“What did you leave in my bed?!” Bruce asked, looking over at Tony.  
“What? Nothing!” Tony denied, realizing that was not what Sage’s look was for.  
“I was just wondering where Loki was, you doofus!” she sighed, and Tony paused, shrugging.  
“He’s your boyfriend, I would’ve thought you’d know,” he snickered, and Sage glared.  
“Well, seeing as last time I saw him you were chasing him down a hallway, I figured it’d be best to make sure that you didn’t get him and maim him,” she smirked, and Tony rolled his eyes.  
“Don’t you have some date to get ready for or something? Quit bothering me!” he joked, flinching as Natasha hit him on the back of his head for the comment. “OW!” he turned to Natasha accusingly, but she glared, pointing her finger in his face.  
“Be nice!” she commanded, and Tony slumped.  
“Fine, mom!” he teased, and she raised her hand again, Tony scrambling out of his chair to avoid getting hit. Natasha rolled her eyes, grabbing another pancake and digging into it.  
“On that note,” Sage started, getting up. “I really should get ready,” she pulled out her phone to check the time: 7:00. Quickly going up to her room and putting on a cute sundress she had been meaning to wear, she ran a brush through her brown frizzy hair to tame it a bit, and then Sage went back down to the lobby and started walking to Central Park, keeping her hand near the hidden pocket in her sundress where she kept her handy switchblade.  
Eventually she reached the park, subtly shifting to a specific tree, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible so no one would notice when she suddenly disappeared. Touching a knot on the tree, Sage blinked, and suddenly she was in a small hollow. Stephen and Loki had worked together to make that knot a gateway to another dimension that only they could access, though the only life in this dimension was plant life, so they knew they would be alone.  
Sage looked around, seeing floating lights, not unlike fireflies however they were just wisps of magic energy. Dropping her jaw, Sage searched the area for her boyfriends, not finding them, but she did find a cliche picnic set up, checkered blanket, basket and all. Sage giggled a bit, before gasping as she was lifted up into a pair of strong arms.   
“Right on time, darling,” Loki said, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he gently placed her down on the blanket.  
“What else would you expect?” Stephen sat down by her side, kissing her other cheek. Loki claimed her other side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  
“So… what is this?” Sage asked, smiling widely. “Last time I checked, our anniversary isn’t for another three months, and none of our birthdays are coming up…” she looked back and forth between them.  
“Do we need a reason to do something romantic for you love?” Loki chuckled, and Sage giggled, shaking her head and leaning back against her boyfriends.  
“I suppose not,” she sighed. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t suspect you two of something,” she narrowed her eyes at them, and Stephen laughed. He waved his hand in a set of gestures, taking the food out of the basket, and Sage gasped at the sheer amount of food that they fit in that basket. An entire spread of her favorite foods spread out in front of her, and she started to laugh. “Okay, now I definitely suspect something!” she exclaimed, and missed the looks Loki and Stephen gave each other.  
They sat together eating and laughing for hours, the wisps of light slowly growing dimmer throughout the night. They had laid back a little bit ago, forming one big cuddle puddle on the blanket. When Stephen’s watch read 12 pm, Sage stood up.  
“Shouldn’t we be getting back?” she asked, and Loki and Stephen looked at each other and shrugged.  
“If you’d like,” Stephen said, pushing himself up into a sitting position.  
“But first, we have an important question for you darling,” Loki said, smirking as both he and Stephen shifted so they were on one knee. Waving their hands in sync, a ring appeared floating in front of Sage. She gasped loudly, a hand flying to her mouth.  
“I knew you guys were up to something,” she whispered, laughing a bit under her breath in disbelief.  
“Sage,” Loki smiled brightly at her. “We both love you so much,”  
“And we both want you to be as happy as possible,” Stephen continued. “But we are men, so we also want some happiness of our own,”  
“And seeing as the biggest source of our happiness is you,” Loki picked up again. “We would be the happiest beings in all known dimensions and on if you would be our wife,” he finished, and Stephen nodded.  
Sage smiled, a couple tears streaking down her face.  
“Of course,” she whispered, leaning down to pull them both into a hug. “I love you both, so much,” she breathed, and Stephen and Loki both nuzzled into her hair, pressing kisses to her her temple. Suddenly a new weight was on Sage’s finger, and she pulled back to look at the ring. It was a beautiful ring of white gold, with a ruby and emerald next to each other.  
They walked back to the tower together holding hands, smiles never leaving their faces. They all completely ignored the passerby trying to subtly take pictures, their relationship having been known about by the public, and seemingly the whole world was waiting for the proposal. Once they were back to the tower, the rest of the avengers were waiting behind the couches in the common area. They all popped out and threw streamers at the happy triad.  
“Congratulations!” they shouted together, Tony quickly walking over to the bar to make them all a drink.  
“Now let’s get you guys drunk!” he laughed a bit, and Sage glared at him, snatching her brandy and going to sit next to Natasha to gush about her fiances.


	2. Don't Bother With Casual (Tony Stark)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A writing prompt I found on Tumblr:  
> Prompt: “You are reeeaaally hot, you know?”  
> “Yeah, and you are drunk. And my boss.”  
> I knew it couldn't be for anyone but Tony

**Prompt: “You are reeeaaally hot, you know?”**

**“Yeah, and you are drunk. And my boss.”**

 

“Come to the party, they said,” Mina couldn’t help herself from muttering under her breath, glaring out at the rich socialites and mighty superheroes while nursing on her glass of bourbon by the bar. “It’ll be fun, they said,” she sighed, turning and making to leave and go back to her quarters, before her arm was grabbed.

“No! You don’t get to leave until you’ve stopped your wallowing!” Clint laughed, face tinged pink from the alcohol he’d been drinking. 

“Clint, what if I’m wallowing  _ because _ I’m here?” she fired back with a pointed glare, and Clint just responded with a pout, tugging on her arm and dragging her closer to the stage where the band was playing a couple minutes earlier.

“Oh come  _ on! _ I have a surprise for you!” he shouted over the techno beat coming from the speakers during the band’s break. Mina started to dig her heels in when she realized that Clint wasn’t stopping, and he was continuing to drag her towards the stage.

“Wait… is that  _ my _ resonator?!” she shouted, referring to the beautiful acoustic guitar sitting in a stand up on the stage.

“Yep,” Clint smirked, pulling drumsticks from under his suit jacket.

“You’re an asshole,” Mina glared, and Clint just smiled the same shit eating grin he always did back at her.

Luckily for Mina, the party goers were all too drunk or absorbed in conversations to notice her shakily walking up the steps with Clint. She knew that once she was performing she’d be fine, but getting there was always the most awkward part. Of _course_ Clint neglected to tell her that the reason she needed to be at this party was because it would be their performing debut. Of _course._   
Mina stared Clint down as he settled behind the drumset.

“I’m assuming you want us to play the set we’ve had figured out?” she asked, and Clint nodded with a smirk.

“I fucking hate you,” Mina scowled, and Clint smiled back.

“Love you too, toots,”

“Bucky only called me that once! You and Linda are lucky I don’t rip your fucking balls off so you can’t have anymore spawn,” she fired back, before yanking her guitar off the stand, slipping the strap over her head.

The techno music that had been playing died, and she knew that was her cue. Mina took a deep breathe, in, out, and her stage persona was on.

“Hello, ladies, gents, and gender nonconforming associates, tonight you’re in for a surprise, hell, I’m in for a surprise, seeing as my band mate,” she cast a pointed look over at said drummer. “Didn’t bother to tell me that we were performing at this party,” that gained some laughter from the crowd.

“Anywho, we’re called  _ Bring Me The Birds _ , and I can’t guarantee you’ll want to dance to all our songs, but they’ll provide a helluva atmosphere,” she introduced, and with that Clint was playing the opening beat.

“ _ And if your heart stops beating _

_ I'll be here wondering _

_ Did you get what you deserve? _

_ The ending of your life” _

As the song continued on Mina was smiling, enjoying the shocked looks on the faces of those who recognized  _ Dead _ by  _ My Chemical Romance _ . Of course, it didn’t sound the same, Mina and Clint having gone for a far more acoustic vibe. As the song came to an end, many people were enthusiastically clapping, and Clint shot Mina a smirk, not that she saw. He knew she’d needed this, or something like this. She spent too much time worrying, especially about a certain predicament with her boss, and needed to unwind.

Mina and Clint continued through their set, Clint not missing Tony’s shocked eyes and almost frozen stance throughout the whole set, standing on the raised platform with the pool table, Steve and Sam both chuckling at him, electing not to remind him that it was his turn.

For the last song, Clint abandoned the drums and grabbed the guitar from Mina, sitting on a stool near the side of the stage in front of a microphone. The giant party room, filled with way too many people, was oddly silent as Mina began to sing, her sultry voice ringing out over the crowd.

_ “Oh, misty eye of the mountain, below _

_ Keep careful watch on my brother’s soul _

_ And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke _

_ Keep watching over Durin’s son…” _

Clint came in with the elaborate guitar picking as Mina continued the song, holding the microphone and walking around the stage. She continued through the verses, and most of the Avengers were surprised when Clint began to sing back up vocals for her. They were surprised enough that Clint and Mina had a  _ band _ , they didn’t even know Clint could  _ sing _ ! Well… except Natasha, but who’s counting. Not even Tony, the host of the party, knew that  _ they _ were the special act Clint had asked for time to be cleared for in the entertainment set.

The final note rang with as thunderous applause greeted the duo, and Mina and Clint grinned, giving each other a hug, and running off the stage. Mina went straight back to the bar, grabbing a bottle of bourbon from behind it, Natasha was bartending again, and escaping back to her room.

An hour or two later, the party goers had all cleared out, and Mina snuck back up to the common floor. Her eyes zeroed in on Clint who was sat on the couch with a couple of the others on the team. The short musician stormed over to the unsuspecting archer, and gave him a dope slap as hard as she deemed he was deserving of.

“Ow! What the hell?” he gasped, rubbing the back of his head.

“Next time we perform, you tell me  _ beforehand _ !” she demanded, glaring at him before jumping over the couch and plopping down next to him. 

As more and more of the Avengers congregated on the sofas, Mina’s smile grew. All of them complimented both Clint and Mina on their wonderful performance, and Sam asked why he didn’t know she could sing like that.

“I mean… it’s not really a secret, there are videos all over from when I was a teenager, mainly busking in Boston,” Mina played it off, scratching her ear in a nervous habit. 

“Can we see one?!” Peter excitedly asked, and Mina sighed.

“I don’t even know where I’d find one, I just know they’re out there,”

That was when Tony, Mina’s boss by the way, decided it would be a wonderful time to step in.

“JARVIS! On screen!” he called before Mina could even react, and then on the screen was a younger Mina, appearing maybe 18, playing a soulful version of Michael Jackson’s  _ Bad _ . Mina blushed, dropping her face into her hands.

“Ugghhhh,” she groaned, unaware that Tony wasn’t anywhere  _ near _ done.

“Also, who picked the name? Clint? How dorky is that?  _ Bring Me The Birds _ ? Okay Hawkeye,” he snarked, and Mina’s blush worsened. The woman turned to snuggle into Clint’s shoulder (platonic snuggles for the win) and tried to block out Tony’s teasing.

“Actually-” Clint began.

“And okay nerd, playing a song from  _ The Hobbit _ at the end?” Tony continued to tease, and at this point Mina was a ball that was seemingly attached to Clint’s side.

“Actually, asshat, both of those ideas were Mina’s,” Clint ground out, tone and eyes cold as ice. Tony froze, glancing at the short woman, appearing even smaller tucked against her best friend’s side, and decided he was nowhere near drunk enough for this. 

As Tony wandered off to the bar, Mina’s hand shot out, grasping Natasha’s wrist. Natasha’s head snapped to look at the woman, but said woman just raised an eyebrow, pointedly glancing at where Natasha had palmed a throwing knife.

“Where do you even hide those?” Mina murmured, looking at Natasha’s beautiful minidress, which left little to the imagination, and even less space to hide throwing knives.

“Don’t worry about it honey,” Natasha chuckled, laying back and scooching so Mina was sandwiched between Clint and Nat.

“I thought it was cute,” Bruce chimed in, smiling softly at Mina, who gave him a thankful smile back.

“Thanks, greenbean,” she said, Bruce giving her a fond look of exasperation at the nickname. He actually didn’t mind Mina calling him stuff like that, because she had actually talked to him about it before calling him anything, making sure it was okay with him.

Soon Maria, Sam, and Natasha had all gone to their quarters for some well deserved beauty sleep, and Mina was dozing on Clint’s shoulder.

“LADY MINA!” a certain bulky god boomed, and Mina suddenly found herself tucked into a pair of burly arms, feet hanging comically above the ground.

“Hi Thor,” Mina greeted, looking over his shoulder and seeing his quieter brother. “Hi Loki,”

“Lady Mina,” The god of mischief greeted, Mina gestured with her head towards a coffee table where she was sure to set his favorite (mortal) book,  _ Harry Potter _ . He gave her a thankful grin before settling down in an armchair and opening said book.

“You performed beautifully tonight!” Thor complimented, and Mina gave him a bewildered look.

“I didn’t see you at the party though?” She inquired, slightly confused.

“He was with me, Sam and Tony playing pool,” Steve piped up, and Mina nodded at the explanation.

“Thor,” she muttered at the god.

“Yes?”

“You’re cutting off circulation to my legs,” and unceremoniously Mina was dropped on the floor with a  _ thud  _ and an  _ oof _ .

More of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes went to bed, and soon the common floor had only Loki, reading his book, Mina and Clint, sipping bourbon from the bottle they were passing back and forth, and Tony, throwing back shots at the bar like it was just water. Mina kept glancing over at Tony, seeing him drink more and more, and knowing he had a meeting with some  _ very _ important business contacts at 7 am the next morning. Mina sighed, standing to go convince him to get some sleep, but Clint grabbed her arm.

“Mina, the point of a party is to  _ not _ work,” he said pointedly, and Mina sighed.

“Yeah, yeah, but I’m not working! I’m just being a good friend?” her voice got less certain the further into her statement she got. Clint rose an unconvinced eyebrow.

“Uh huh…” he muttered, letting go of Mina’s arm and rolling his eyes as the woman went right to the bar to get Tony to get some sleep.

Mina pulled herself up onto the stool next to Tony, awkwardly shuffling her short self to be steady on the seat. Before the musician could open her mouth to say anything, however, Tony was speaking, his voice slurred and eyes unfocused.

“ **You are reeeaaally hot, you know?** ” he asked, giving her a dreamy look, and Mina sighed.

“ **Yeah and you are drunk, and my boss** ,” she said, turning to give him a pointed look. She knew he knew that she had been crushing on him for months, so him flirting just always seemed cruel, even though she knew that was just who he was.

“There isn’t a rule against us doing anything,” he chuckled, leaning closer, and Mina groaned, deciding to ignore him.

“You need some sleep, you have a meeting at 7 in the morning, and it’s 3 am already.” Mina sighed, standing and nudging Tony off the stool. She caught him in his stumble and threw his arm over her shoulder, unsure he would be able to support himself on his own in his terribly inebriated state.

“Pepper can handle it,” Tony mumbled, and Mina shook her head.

“Pepper is in Hawaii at the moment, and I doubt she’ll want to do a video conference at 2 am for her,” she explained, guiding him to the elevator. “JARVIS could you please take us to Mr. Stark’s floor?”

“Of course, Mina,” JARVIS responded.

“Wait, what?!” Tony gasped, standing up straighter. “Why does he call you by your first name? That is  _ literally _ against his programming!” he demanded, and Mina shrugged.

“When I asked him he told me it was against his programming, so I changed it slightly to make me an exception,” she explained.

“HOW DID YOU EVEN ACCESS HIS PROGRAMMING?!” Tony asked, seeming much more sober.

“You gave me access,” Mina said, giving him a puzzled look. “You hadn’t slept for a couple days though, so it’s entirely possible you weren’t aware of what you were doing,” she said, and Tony shook his head.

The elevator doors opened and Mina assisted Tony to his bedroom. 

“Can I change your programming?” he asked suddenly, and Mina started, giving him a questioning look. “You still call me Mr. Stark no matter how many times I tell you to call me Tony,” Mina shuffled on her feet, but Tony’s arm which was still over her shoulder tightened, pulling her tighter to him.

“It’s… easier that way,” she said, and Tony hummed in confusion.

“What’s easier?”

“You can’t  _ not _ know,” she sighed, trying to pull away again, but Tony turned them so they were face to face.

“Yeah, that’s the problem, I know everything and I have no idea what your issue is,” he said, raising an eyebrow, and Mina gave a nervous laugh.

“I don’t have an _ issue _ ,” she said, and Tony just continued looking at her with a blank face. “It’s-easier-to-stay-detached-and-not-fall-for-you-when-I-don’t-use-your-name,” Mina blurted out, words strung together enough that she hoped Tony wouldn’t catch what she said. Her luck, it seemed, was not with her.

“Well that’s stupid,” Tony said bluntly, and Mina’s face contorted as she tried to step back again. “Because I’ve been  _ trying _ to get your attention for months,” he said, and Mina shook her head.

“I don’t do casual,” Mina said, turning her face away from him.

“Well that’s good, because I’m not really looking for casual,” Tony muttered, cupping her cheek and turning her face back to him to lock eyes. Mina’s gaze still averted.

“You’re drunk, Tony,” she said, and Tony shook his head.

“Interesting thing about this-” he tapped the glowing blue circle in his chest. “It makes my metabolism process alcohol far faster than normal, my system’s already worked through it,” he explained, and Mina shook her head in astonishment.

“So-?” she trailed off, not even sure what she wanted to ask. Tony didn’t let her ask any more questions, he didn’t let her overthink anything else, he just gave her a soft kiss. Mina gasped quietly, hands fidgeting, unsure of where to place them, and Tony gripped her hip gently with the hand that wasn’t against her cheek, pulling her closer to him.

“Goodnight Mina,” he said when he pulled away, his hand shifting to her neck, and it took every ounce of his self restraint to not lead Mina to his bed as she looked up at him with her beautiful, wide, shimmering eyes, lips reddened and parted slightly as she panted lightly from his kiss. Mina gave him a peck on his cheek quickly before darting back to the elevator.

“Goodnight Tony,” she said quietly before the elevator doors shut, and Tony was left with a dopey smile on his face that was reminiscent of when he was a teenager.


	3. Are Snuggles Okay? (Ronan)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another prompt found on Tumblr...  
> And look, I adore this blue marshmallow, Lee Pace is a hunk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Trust me."  
> "Trust you?! You stabbed me!"  
> "...Er, right, sorry about that, bro."

**Prompt: “Trust me.”**

**“Trust you?! You stabbed me!”**

**“...Er, right, sorry about that, bro.”**

 

_ Why is it so warm? _ Was Mina’s first coherent thought upon waking up. Given, the Terran always slept with a mountain of blankets, but she never woke up sweating. In fact, where were her blankets?! 

Mina shot up, eyes blinking open but only serving to further disorient her as a blur of grey and orange was all that occupied her field of vision. As she worked to blink the gunk out of her eyes, Mina took stock of what she could.

She was on the ground, which felt like some sort of metal grate, with occasional bouts of steam rising from below and coming up between the openings. She was still in her training gear, which embarrassingly consisted of a sports bra, a belt for her knives, and some barely-there leggings. Not the best outfit to be in when waking up in a new place with no idea how you got there. Soon enough, as Mina’s vision cleared, something that looked like a reactor engine came into view, with a sputtering combustion engine right next to it.

_ Well that explains the heat _ . She thought, concluding she was in an engine room for some star ship that was  _ not _ the one she had been living on. 

On shaky legs Mina stood up, being careful not to make too much noise or touch anything that looked like it might make noise. She tip-toed cautiously over to where she assumed the door was. Examining a panel next to said door, the short woman bit her lip, hoping that the markings that resembled the Kree language was not, in fact, Kree. The race were notoriously unsympathetic, to put it kindly, and brandished the attitude of “shoot first, ask questions later” with pride.  Pushing the green button on the panel, Mina suppressed her victory dance when the door opened with a  _ swoosh _ , and crept into the hallway, being sure to stay close to the wall and staying silent as possible. 

Pulling on her admittedly limited knowledge of star ships, Mina was certain that any craft she could use to escape would be on a higher deck than the engine room, but unfortunately, on the higher decks she would be more likely to run into the ship’s inhabitants, who may or may not be Kree. Taking a shuddering breath, Mina made her way through the halls until she happened upon a stairwell, quickly ascending to the next level.

As she silently crept past what appeared to be an engineer’s fix-it station, Mina froze at the sound of approaching footsteps accompanied by gravelly voices. Her previous assessment, unfortunately, appeared to be correct, in that she was on a Kree ship. Looking around, Mina threw herself into a dark room she had failed to notice before, holding her breath as a group of Kree soldiers passed. Mina groped her way through the dark room until she found a bench, or at least something that felt bench-like, and sat down with a sigh. Now that she had some idea of who was on this ship, though admittedly the identity of “Kree” was still quite vague, Mina was glad she had her knives with her. She took a small dagger from her belt, preparing to stand and continue looking for a way out.

“Lost, are we?” A deep voice rumbled by her ear, and with a squeak of surprise the Terran twisted and stabbed… someone… in the thigh. The male roared as he quickly grabbed Mina by the neck with one hand while the other made a snapping motion, causing the lights in the room to turn on. Mina’s eyes widened as she gaped the large kree male in front of her, taking in his height, which was easily two feet taller than her own, and his large build.

“Did you really think you stood a chance against me, little Terran?” the kree mocked with a chuckle, and Mina shook her head.

“Nope, not really,” she gasped out, and the hand on her neck let up on some of the pressure, lowering her back onto solid ground.

“Explain yourself,” he demanded, crowding and looming over her. “What are you doing here?”

“I wish I knew,” Mina whimpered, and the large kree clicked his tongue at her.

“Pretending to be ignorant will get you nowhere, why are you here?” he demanded once again, the pressure on Mina’s neck returning slightly as he growled down at her. The young woman tilted her head up to meet his purple gaze.

“I really don’t know! I woke up in some sort of engine room a deck below! Trust me!” she pleaded, but the kree just narrowed his eyes at her.

“Trust you?!” he let out a mocking, one syllable laugh, gesturing with his free hand to his thigh, where the wound Mina had inflicted upon him looked more like a papercut. “You stabbed me!” Mina flinched.

“...Er, right, sorry about that, bro,” she managed an apologetic smile up at him. “But you did sneak up on me, in the dark, after I just woke up sweating balls in a place I didn’t recognize next to a reactor engine…” she trailed off.

“Reactor engine?” he parroted, eyes lighting up slightly.

“Uh, yeah,” Mina confirmed. “Next to an old combustion engine,” the kree’s face lit up, and Mina could barely contain her flinch, expecting him to do… something… to her.

“It worked!”

“What?” Not the reaction Mina was expecting.

“Where were you, before you woke up here?” the kree demanded, sitting on the bench and pulling Mina down with him.

“Wait, where am I now?” Mina countered, looking up at him in confusion and disorientation at the rapid change in tone. The kree scoffed.

“You are on my ship, of course,  _ The Dark Aster _ ,” he said, going to repeat his question but Mina quickly cut him off.

“Why do you say that like it’s obvious? I’ve never heard of  _ The Dark Aster _ ,” Mina asked, no less confused than she was a minute ago. The kree froze at that, looking down at the girl with a perplexed look.

“Do you… not know who I am?” he asked with seemingly genuine surprise.

“No…?” Mina trailed off, wracking her brain for who he could possibly be. The kree sighed.

“I am Ronan, the Accuser, Commander of  _ The Dark Aster _ ,” he declared, his voice booming and taking on a hint of pride at his titles. Mina nodded, said titles meaning absolutely nothing to her and going right over her head.

“Oh, well, hi Ronan!” she smiled up at him, much to his surprise, and held out her hand for him to shake. “I’m Mina,” she introduced herself, and Ronan just awkwardly stared at her hand.

“What are you doing?” he gestured to her hand, but Mina just continued to smile her perplexingly adorable grin up at him.

“Oh! It’s a common Terran greeting called a handshake,” she explained. “Here, put your hand in mine,” Ronan slowly rose his hand and put the back of it to Minaś palm. Mina giggled, reaching for his other hand and showing him how to do a handshake. “I am Mina de Ro’acch, and it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ronan repeated the movement, less sure.

“I am Ronan the Accuser, Commander of  _ The Dark Aster _ , and the pleasure is mine,” Mina wasn’t sure why the way Ronan’s voice dropped in pitch sent shivers up her spine, but as it wasn’t at all unpleasant, she didn’t question it.

Suddenly Ronan stood, hand still gripping Mina’s tightly, and began to drag her back through the halls to where she woke up. He rose his unoccupied hand so his wrist was at his face.

“Firr, your machine worked, meet me there,” he spoke curtly, a green light blinking on his wrist cuff before shutting off.

“What? Who’s Firr? What machine?” Mina asked, eyes wide.

“You will see,” was all the explanation Ronan gave her, continuing to drag her into the room she woke up in, where Mina jumped upon seeing another Kree, this one yellow and maybe half a foot shorter than Ronan, already waiting for them.

“Ronan! What do you mean it wo-” the man, who Mina assumed must be Firr, cut himself off upon seeing her. “I see,” he said instead, turning to a panel on the reactor engine and beginning to input commands.

“What’s going on? What is this?” Mina demanded, trying to pull her hand away from Ronan but he kept it in a firm grip. Firr smiled wide at Mina, in the way a passionate scholar does when gushing about their work.

“The kree high council has granted me permission to create a machine that helps us find our mates!” Firr exclaimed, almost jumping up and down. “Ronan was generous enough to allow me to work on  _ The Dark Aster _ , with each unmated Kree on the ship donating their DNA,” Mina cut him off there.

“Mates? I don’t understand,” she looked from Firr to Ronan. Firr turned back to the reactor engine, allowing Ronan to explain as he input more commands.

“Every kree has a destined mate, or mates, who they share a life force with,” he explained. “Firr has been working on a machine that will take a kree’s DNA and using it, find their mate,” even Ronan had an excited grin on his face speaking about the machine. Mina had to admit to herself that she didn’t think kree could smile this much.

“But that doesn’t explain why I’m here…” Mina said, furrowing her brows, but Firr just smirked at her.

“Doesn’t it?” he prompted, and Mina’s eyes widened after a moment of thinking.

“I’m someone’s mate?!” she gasped, and Firr nodded.

“Have you found out who?” Ronan asked, and the other kree turned back to the panel.

“Retrieving data now…” he trailed off, freezing as something popped up on the screen.

“What is it?” Ronan demanded, and Firr shifted to the side so Ronan could read the display on the screen. Mina looked as well, but it was in vain as more Kree markings popped up.

“What does it say?” she asked, the males’ silence worrying her and doing absolutely nothing to sate her curiosity. 

“You’re mine,” Ronan said softly with a sigh.

“What?!” Mina’s eyes widened once more as she snapped her head to look at him.

“You’re my mate, my destined one,” Ronan declared, much  more firm, and his hands reached up to cradle the sides of her face. Mina was just confused.

“Wait! Wouldn’t you have known that before?” she asked, and Ronan shook his head, closing his eyes and reminding himself that as she was not a kree, she wouldn’t know.

“A mated pair does not feel the bond until each mate is fully at ease while in each others’ presence,” he explained and Mina’s nose wrinkled in confusion at the strange condition. Wouldn’t knowing that you were mates put you at ease? Ronan chuckled and ran a thumb over her cheek tenderly before lowering his hand to grasp one of hers.

“Come,” he announced, pulling Mina back out into the hall. Mina cast her confused gaze to Firr, who just smiled at her

“Come where?” Mina asked, trying to keep up with Ronan’s brisk pace with her much shorter legs.

“To my quarters, so we can learn one another,” he scoffed as if it were obvious. Mina froze, digging her heels into the ground, and Ronan turned to look back at her when his hand was met with resistance. A puzzled expression graced his face.

“And by learn one another, you mean…?” Mina trailed off, and Ronan laughed a bit, realizing the problem.

“Our likes, dislikes, values, what makes us who we are,” he pulled the small Terran to his chest in a surprisingly tender embrace. “Once I know my mate mentally and emotionally, and we both desire it, we will learn each other physically, but there is no rush,” he explained, resting his chin on top of her head as Mina sighed in relief, a soft “oh” escaping her mouth. Mina allowed Ronan to gently lead her the rest of the way, still tucked under one of his muscular arms. Once at his quarters, Ronan led Mina to a couch where they sat down, the kree being sure to keep a respectful distance between them. Mina sighed, awkwardly shifting as she realized she already missed the presence of his body against hers. She shuffled closer to the large kree until their thighs were touching, and leaned over until her head was just above his chest.

“Ronan?”

“Yes?”

“Are… Are snuggles okay?”

The kree softly laughed, wrapping his arms around his Terran mate and pulling her into his lap.

“Yes Mina, snuggles are okay,”


End file.
